MH-250 Antimc - It's Free, But It's Not CheapIt's Free, But It's Not Cheap, the solo debut from Los Angeles producer Antimc, is a nine-song collection of sprawling post-rock, dancefloor filling hip-hop, and inspired electronics. The album features three MCs (Busdriver, Cadence Weapon, and Saafir), three vocalists (Anthony Anzalone of the Mean Reds, Andrew Broder of Fog, and Mark Mitchell of Clue to Kalo), and shows a vast range of production styles. Antimc is the rare producer that is just as accomplished at writing melodies, playing his own live instrumentation, and structuring a song, as he is at programming a drum machine and editing on a computer. This versatility shows as he is able to span hip-hop to hardcore to electro to post-rock and capture standout performances from each collaborator, while always focusing on creating an expertly crafted song.

Sometimes the most crucial decision artists can make is with whom to work. On his debut, It's Free but It's Not Cheap, Los Angeles DJ Antimc shows he knows exactly what he's doing. He records with a variety of artists, including rappers (Busdriver), mellow indie rockers (Fog), and guys who wouldn't sound out of place singing on a Blood Brothers album (Anthony Anzalone). Every collaboration works flawlessly, especially hip-hop tracks such as "Canadian Dream." This is not to imply that Antimc can't handle things on his own. The opener, "Ten Days Out," starts as an IDM-style downtempo jam. But as the song progresses, live instrumentation is subtly added until it becomes a straight-ahead rock song. In this sense, the CD constantly hops from one idea to the next, but never in a self-conscious way. It's as if Antimc is too busy making good music to bother with antiquated notions of genre. - SF Bay Guardian